Siphone-recorder.



S. G. BROWN.

SIPHON RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 6, 1912.

1,080,412, Patented Dec.2, 1913.

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S. G. BROWN.

SIPHON RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 6, 1012 1,080, 41 2, Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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S. G. BROWN.

SIPHON RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED IEB. s, 1912.

1,080,41 2. Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

4 SHEETS'-SHEET 3.

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S. G. BROWN.

SIPHON REGORDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1912.

1,080,412, Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAI'II $0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SIDNEY GEORGE BROWN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

SIPI-ION-RECORDER.

Application filed February 6, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY GEORGE BROWN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 4; Great WVinchester street, in the city and county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to Siphon- Recorders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to siphon recorders, the chief object being to use a short siphon tube and to mount the tube and control its movements in such a way that its weight or inertia can be considerably reduced, and in consequence a greater speed of recording attained than has hitherto been practicable, with the present form of long siphon tube.

According to the present invention the siphon tube and the parts cooperating with it are so constructed and arranged that the length of tube employed is considerably shorter than is customary, and the inertia of the tube and the degree of control necessary for it are reduced. The said tube is so mounted with respect to the ink supply outlet that the ink inlet end of the tube is coaxial with the axis about which the oscillatory movements of the tube take place, or, even if the said tube occupies a position in which its inlet end is out of alinement with the axis of oscillation, there will be no tendency for the tube to be moved by the surface tension of the ink. The ink may be supplied to the siphon tube in any convenient way, but I prefer to employ an ink reservoir with an outlet extending to a point below the siphon tube carrier. In the case of the siphon tube being mounted with its inlet end co-axial with the axis of oscillation, the ink supply outlet may consist of a tube with a hole bored centrally with respect to the aforesaid axis of oscillation of the siphon tube. The size of the hole in this ink supply tube is such that the ink will be revented from overflowing by reason of the surface tension of the exposed surface of the ink in the hole; of course, it will, however, flow along the siphon tube in proportion to the demand. A siphon tube mounted as above described need be only about half an inch long instead of the usual length of about two and a half inches. In the case of the siphon tube being mounted with its inlet end slightly out of alinement with the axis of oscillation, it will be understood that the edge of the ink reservoir or of its supply Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

Serial No. 675,797.

tube must necessarily be near to the inlet end of the siphon tube. Hence the surface tension of the ink will have a tendency to drag the inlet end of the siphon tube into contact with the edge of the said reservoir or supply tube, unless special precautions are taken to obviate this tendency. With this object I make the edge of the ink reservoir or supply tube adjacent to the inlet end of the siphon tube circular and concentric with the path of movement of the said inlet end, so that the surface tension of the ink has no greater tendency to move the siphon tube in one direction than in the opposite direction.

The siphon tube carrier is made light but rigid, and may conveniently consist of a small plate or bar of aluminium, suitably stiffened if necessary by one or more ribs or corrugations; it may be held in a horizontal position by the usual suspension fibers, wires, or strips, but since the ink inlet end of the siphon tube, and hence also the ink sup ply, is immediately under or only slightly to one side of the said carrier, the lower suspension fiber, wire, or strip, is not directly attached to this carrier but is attached to two vertical silk threads which extend downwardly from two points on the sides of the carrier or from two depending lugs thereon.

Any appropriate means may be employed to impart to the siphon tube the customary continuous vibration. The means I prefer to adopt comprise a tuning fork kept in a vibratory condition by an electromagnet, the vibrations of one limb of the fork being transmitted to the siphon tube. This transmission may be effected either through a resilient member attached to some part of the siphon-tube mounting, for instance one of the suspension fibers, or through a frame supporting not only the siphon tube but also its suspension fibers, wires or strips; in the latter case the said frame is firmly attached to the limb of the tuning fork and the whole frame and all it carries vibrate together.

One or each suspension fiber, wire, or strip, instead of being fixed directly to a suitable part of the frame, may be passed over one or more corners of the frame and then be secured to a spring situated beyond the corners. In this way the steadiness of the suspension fibers, wires, or strips, is insured.

In order to transmit the oscillating move ments of the usual coil of the recorder to the siphon tube, the siphon tube carrier may be connected to the coil, or to a magnifying arm carried thereon, by a silk transmitting thread. It is preferable however for the transmitting thread to be fastened by shellac or otherwise to one of the vertical. silk threads hereinbefore referred to as depending from the siphon tube carrier; in this way the twisting or bending that would otherwise occur at the point of connection of the transmitting thread with the siphon tube carrier is avoided and is taken up by a slight twisting of the vertical thread about its own aXis. It will be understood that owing to the inertia of the tube being lessened by shortening it, the degree of control required to hold it in position is lessened, and the power required to move it is correspondingly reduced; hence the speed of signaling is increased.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, 1 will now describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fi ure 1 is a plan of a complete apparatus adapted to work in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation, and lFig. 3 a side elevation of the same. l ig. 4t is a detached view of a modified arrange ment for supplying the ink to the siphon tube. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a modified manner of arranging the oscillating coil and siphon tube. Fig. 6 is a side elevation and Fig. 7 a cross section showing a further modification of the suspension device for the siphon tube and carrier.

Like letters of reference indicate sim'lar parts in all the figures.

A is a hard steel permanent magnet core, and A A are windings to convert the permanent magnet into an electromagnet when necessary; A A? are its adjustable pole pieces, and between them is suspended the oscillating coil B. This coil 13 carries a magnifying arm B to which is attached the transmitting thread B at an intermedi ate point in the length of the latter; the ends of the thread B are secured to two blade springs, one of which 13 (Fig. 1) is mounted horizontally and protected by a guard piece B while the other B (Fig. is mounted vertically and protected by a hood l3. humb screws are provided to adjust these springs, and hence also the tension in the transmitting thread B At another intermediate point in its length, the transmitting thread B is attached, preferably by shellac, to one of two vertical silk threads C depending from the carrier C of the siphon tube 0. The carrier C is a small thin plate of aluminium and the vertical silk threads extend between this plate and a similar one vertically below it. The ends of the threads C are brought together The frame D is kept in vibration by means of an electromagnet E the armature of which is shaped like a tuning fork, as shown by E. The frame D is attached to one limb of the fork and the other limb is balanced by weights E to increase the steadiness of the vibrations of the frame.

E is the contact at which the circuit of the winding of the electromagnet E is rapidly made and broken.

The strip of paper F on which the rec ords are made is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. It passes under the pivoted weight F", around the guide F and over a guide roller F and thence over the recording drum G from which it is drawn by the paper feeding mechanism H. The passage of the paper over a drum or equivalent curved surface at the place where the recording is done is a generally known arrangement, but it is especially beneficial in the case of my..unusually short siphon tube owing to its having the effect of eliminating curvature in the recording lines upon the paper. The marking or outlet end of the siphon tube C bears upon the paper on the drum G and the inlet end dips into the ink as will now be described.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1-3 the inlet end of the siphon tube lies on the common axis of oscillation of the upper and lower aluminium plates C, C, and the ver tical threads C C The said inlet end dips centrally into a hole bored vertically on the upper side of a tube J leading from the ink reservoir J. In order that this reservoir may be removed at any time and replaced to exactly the same position, I have provided a curved guide J with a groove J in it for engagement with a lug on the reservoir J, so that to return the reservoir to its plate at any time it is merely turned angularly as far as the groove J will allow, and is then raised vertically and clamped by the screw J In the arrangement shown in Fig.4: the ink inlet end of the siphon tube C is out of alinement with its axis of oscillation but the edge of the ink reservoir or supply tube is correspondingly curved, so that the surface tension eifects oftheink upon the inlet end of the siphon tube are negligible.

Reverting to the apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it may be mentioned that the spindle of the recording drum G is slightly eccentric with respect to the bearing that supports it, so that by turning the drum and spindle about their bearing the surface of the drum can be adjusted in position relatively to the marking end of the siphon tube C. In order to counterbalance the weight of the siphon tube C a small weight may if desired be fixed to the aluminium plate C to which the said siphon tube is also attached. G is a shield situated between the recording drnm and the siphon tube.

In a modified arrangement designed to dispense with the usual one or more transmitting threads and to effect a more direct and positive transmission of the coil move ments, the siphon tube C may be mounted on the same axis as the oscillating coil by the above mentioned suspension wires, as seen diagrammatically in Fig. 5. To compensate for the necessarily increased angular movement of the coil, the latter may be reduced in diameter and weight. I prefer to use a coil considerably narrower than the usual. siphon recorder coils, and in order to make this coil as light as possible I may employ very fine enamel-covered copper or aluminium wire. The usual permanent or electromagnet will of course be suitably arranged to accord with such a positioning of the coil. This arrangement may be adopted whether the inlet end of the siphon tube is co-axial with or displaced from the axis about which the tube oscillates.

Instead of supporting the siphon carrier in a frame D carried by one limb of the tuning fork, I may connect the suspension fibers or wires C, 0 of the siphon carrier to flat springs 0 0 (see Figs. 6 and 7) the upper one of which forms part of an adjustable stop device 0 and the lower one is attached to the bottom limb (1 of the tuning fork and is adapted to strike against a stop 0 situated near its free end; thus although the spring and suspension device are suddenly arrested in their downward movement by this stop, the limb 0 of the tuning fork can continue to move downward. To prevent the spring 0" from bouncing when it strikes the stop it may be provided with a dash pot or similar arrangement; in the example shown I have provided two small vessels a 0 containing heavy cylinder oil, one being situated at each side of the spring. The spring is provided with a cross wire 0 preferably consisting of steel wire of about gths of an inch thick and suitably bent to permit of the free end 0", 0 entering the said vessels (see Fig. 7). I find it advantageous to arrange the suspension fibers or wires C the stop 0 and the device 0 0 at the free end of the spring 0 and in the same vertical plane. The lower suspension fibers C may be tied in a small hole in the spring 0 and a zero adjustment dispensed with.

The fibers C C might however be provided with small hooks for enabling them to be easily connected with the springs 0 0*".

In addition to maintaining the usual continuous vibration of the siphon tube, the flow of ink may be further :lacilitated by electrifying it. The necessary voltage may be generated in any convenient way, as, for example, by placing a transformer wind ing E over the magnet winding E and by completing the circuit of this winding through the drum G- and ink reservoir J, as shown in Fig. (5.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In siphon recording apparatus, a siphon tube only about one half of an inch in length, fibers suspending the tube with capability of oscillation about a vertical axis, means controlling the oscillatory recording movements of the tube, said means being proportionate to the small weight aml inertia of the tube incidental to its short length, and siphon-tube-ink-supplying means preserving constant surface tension conditions between the ink surface and the ink inlet of the tube notwithstanding the oscillatory recording movements of the said tube.

2. In siphon recording ap )aratus, a siphon tube, and means supporting the tube with its ink inlet end co-axial with the axis about which the oscillatory recording movements of the tube take place.

3. In siphon recording apparatus, a siphon tube, a siphon tube carrier, fibers suspending the said tube and carrier with freedom to oscillate about the inlet end of the siphon tube, and means supplying ink to the said inlet end.

4. In siphon recording apparatus, a light narrow rigid plate, a similar plate situated vertically below it, apair of parallel fibers attached to and extending between the pairs of plates, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plates and pair of parallel fibers, a siphon tube supported by one of the aforesaid rigid plates with its inlet end co-axial with the suspension fibers, and means to which the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached.

5. In siphon recording apparatus, a light narrow rigid plate, a similar plate situated vertically below it, a pair of parallel fibers attached to and extending between the pair of plates, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plates and pair of parallel fibers, a siphon tube supported by one of the aforesaid rigid plates with its inlet end co-axial with the suspension fibers, means to which the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached, and means for keeping the aforesaid means in constant vibration.

6. In siphon recording apparatus, a light narrow rigid plate, a pair of fibers attached to and extending from the plate, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plate and pair of fibers, a siphon tube supported by the aforesaid rigid plate with its inlet co-axial with the sus aension fibers, supports to which the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached, and electro-magnetic means for keeping one of the supports in constant vibra tion.

7. In siphon recording apparatus, a light narrow rigid plate, a pair of fibers attached to and extending from the plate, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plate and pair of fibers, a siphon tube supported by the aforesaid rigid plate with its inlet end co-aXial with the suspension fibers, blade springs to which the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached, a tuning fork to one limb of which one of the blade springs is secured, and electromagnetic means for keeping the said limb in constant vibration.

8. In si ahon recordin a ooaratus a li 'ht narrow rigid plate, a similar plate situated vertically below it, a pair of parallel fibers attached to and extending between the pair of plates, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plates and pair of parallel fibers, a siphon tube supported by one of the aforesaid rigid plates with its inlet end co -axial with the suspension fibers, a frame to which the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached, and a spring interposed in the attachment of one of the suspension fibers to the frame.

9. In siphon recording apparatus, a light narrow rigid plate, a pair of fibers attached to and extending from the plate, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plate and pair of fibers, a siphon tube supported by the aforesaid rigid plate with its inlet end co-axial with the suspension fibers, means to which I the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached, an oscillating coil responsive to the line currents, and means for transmitting the movements of the coil to the siphon tube by way of one of the above mentioned pair of fibers.

10. In siphon recording apparatus, a light narrow rigid plate, a pair of fibers attached to and extending from the plate, upper and lower suspension fibers supporting and controlling the aforesaid plate and pair of fibers, a siphon tube supported by the aforesaid rigid plate with its ink inlet end coaxial with the suspension fibers, means to which the remote ends of the suspension fibers are attached, electromagnetic means for transmitting continuous vibrations to the siphon tube through the aforesaid means, and means associated with the aforesaid electromagnetic means and deriving electric energy therefrom for electrifying the ink supplied to the siphon tube.

11. In siphon recording apparatus, the combination with a siphon tube mounted with its ink inlet end co-aXial with the axis about which the oscillatory recording movements of the tube take place, of an ink reser voir and apipe extending therefrom to a point beneath the inlet end of the siphon tube and having an ink outlet hole on its upper side immediately beneath the inlet end of the siphon tube, the size of the hole being so small as to prevent the overflow through it of ink from the reservoir owing to the surface tension of the ink exposed at the hole.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SIDNEY GEORGE BROWN. Witnesses GEORGE S. BRIDGES, T. SELBY IVARDLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

